After yesterdays imperial half, time dictated that this mornings ride would be a fair bit shorter.
So out of the door just before 8am and once again into the cycling groove that must run up Coal Road.
However, today I turned right onto Skeltons Lane, to se if I could get through the roadblocks to the village of Thorner, which is surrounded by a ring of minimum wage steel and traffic cones during the Leeds Festival. Anyway, I'm pleased to report that while he turned back a couple of cars in front of me, the security youth waved me straight through, for an almost closed roads experience through the village (locals are still being allowed access - I think they have to show their webbed feet or something)
So, down the always fun descent of Sandhills
and into the village proper for a spin along Main Street and since I was testing my luck, up Church Hill and onto Bramham Road heading for Bramham Park and the festival itself. Straight through another checkpoint, where frankly the bloke in hi-viz couldn't have looked less interested, and down one of the festival entrances where I did contemplate taking a photo but there wasn't a great deal to see apart from bored looking security guards and lots of buses parked up waiting to take the festival-goers to Tesco at Seacroft when it opened at 10 to use the proper toilets and buy more ambient temperature beer.
Staying on the road and skirting the park, before plunging down into the mist still lingering in Wothersome dip, taking it steady due to the very damp road surface and then the lung-busting climb up the other side, to Checkpoint number 3 where there was quite a queue of cars and taxis being told that they couldn't go down the hill. I turned left along Thorner Lane, which was a fair bit busier than usual as it seemed to be the only road open to motor vehicles. The dip here was treacherous - I mentioned yesterday about the mud and gravel run off from fields after the midweek monsoon and I had to take this very carefully, which meant I was out of the seat for the whole climb back up the other side as I had precious little momentum to push me on.
Anyway, it eventually flattened out a bit although it's a steady ascent along for the next half mile or so before it finally levels out completely. I soon reached Milner Lane though and pedalled along the ridge enjoying the quiet until a manic taxi driver simply couldn't wait in passing place for us to cross and pushed through at one of the narrowest points. Still, I had just enough room to avoid him.
I then stopped for a couple of photos and a drink:
Back in the saddle and on my way, soon reaching the drop back down into Thorner and yet another checkpoint where I was waved through again, passing a good number of cyclists heading up the hill and clearly making the most of the lack of traffic.
Into the village and onto main Street, before turning onto Carr Lane for the lesser of the three climbs out of there, eventually reaching the midway summit, before dropping down through the S bends (more gravel everywhere!
) and the steady climb up towards the A58 and through my final roadblock of the day, where the security guard didn't even look up from his book as I wheezed past.
From there it's a quickish spin down the A58, followed by a not quite so quick climb up Coal Road until it levels out and I could open the taps for the final time and keep the legs spinning onto local roads and down to home, with a final once around the block to round the mileage up.
14.27 miles (22.9km) in
1h 4m at an average of
13.4mph with
705ft climbed, although it always feels like more on that circuit.
Good to get out for an hour and get some miles in before other commitments and with the weather set fair for tomorrow, it might just be three days on the trot...and I've just notice that this ride has put me through 1,600 miles so far this year, which isn't a great deal compared to many but I'm quite happy about given the rubbish start to the year I had.
Nice to enjoy a near closed road experience on some local roads too - with tonight being the last of the festival it won't be anything like that tomorrow as the great unwashed head home, so I'll have to think about another route.
And to end, a map:
).
I do wonder what Doug could manage if we put him on something a bit sportier.
